Guard rail for hospital bed



7 April 21, 1970 0. K Ross ET GUARD RAIL FOR HOSPITAL BED Filed April29, 1968 INVENTORS 56 OAKLAND K. ROSS ROBERT F. KNIGHT STANLEYRACHLINSKI BY7 53ml ',/%4/

United States Patent US. Cl. 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Thisinvention relates to an improved counterbalanced guard rail for a bedwhich is pivotally connected at one end thereof to the bed by parallellinkage to maintain the rail in a substantially vertical plane in itsraised and lowered positions and which it is being raised and lowered.

Conventional hospital bed guard rails are of three basic types. A firsttype which was used for many years consists of a rail that is removablyconnected to the bed. No means was generally provided for moving theguard rail up or down. To avoid the inconvenience of having to removeand store this removable type when not needed, the trend has been toprovide a bed with guard rails that are permanently attached to the bedbut which can be moved to and from an upper guard position and a storageposition. The most common of the second type consists of a rail which isadapted to be vertically moved to and from the two positions, in amanner similar to the operation of a drop side of a childs crib. Thedisadvantage of the latter type is that when the guard rail is in itsstorage position, it creates an obstruction which tends to interferewith sweeping and other cleaning operations. The third basic type ofpermanently fixed guard rail is one in which the guard rail is swungunderneath the bed for storage. This type is characterized by relativelycomplicated construction and, like the second type it also interfereswith the free space beneath the bed.

The guard rail of the present invention is carried on arm memberspivotally attached to mounting brackets removably secured to each end ofthe bed so that movement to and from the raised and lowered positions iscarried out by a swinging action of the arm members. When the guard railis in storage position, it does not in any way interfere with the freespace beneath the bed. Another feature of the invention is the provisionof a torque tube which is concealed inside the guard rail. The torquetube is adapted to urge the rear or foot end of the guard rail upwardlysufficiently to counteract the tendency of the foot end of the guardrail to sag under its own weight. This arrangement obviates the need forbulky linkages for supporting the foot end of the guard rail and enablesthe use of a compact linkage (located below mattress level) which doesnot interfere with the patients feet.

The invention will be more thoroughly understood from the followingdescription of a preferred embodiment thereof as read in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hospital bed having an improved guardrail,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical end view of the guard rail shown in FIG.1 and showing the rail in storage position,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the guard rail in itsraised position,

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3,

3,506,989 Patented Apr. 21, 1970 FIG. 5 is an enlarged detailed view ofa portion of the guard rail taken along the line 55 of FIG. 3, and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a mounting bracket at thefoot of the bed.

Referring to FIG. 1, a hospital bed illustrated by way of example is ofa type in which a movable frame 10 of the bed is raised and loweredrelative to the floor by means of a parallel linkage connection with abase frame 12. However, it will be understood that the guard rail ofthis invention is adapted to any type of hospital bed having suitablypositioned frame elements to which the guard rail and associatedstructure can be attached.

The improved guard rail is generally indicated by reference numeral 13and it is provided with a pair of mounting brackets 14 and 16 attachedto frame members at the head and foot of the bed and carrying first andsecond linkage means 18 and 20 which support the guard rail 13. It willbe understood that in most cases a bed will be provided with guard railson each side of the bed although only one is illustrated in FIG. 1. Theguard rail 13 includes three tubular elements 21, 22 and 23 which arewelded together to form a rigid unitary structure.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the mounting bracket 14 (which is positioned atthe head of the bed) consists of a steel plate to which are pivotallyattached a pair of swinging arm members 26 and 28. The pivotalattachment is achieved by conventional pre-tensioned friction devicessuch as nylon washers, bolt and lock nut assemblies which are providedat pivot points 30 and 32. The outer ends of the arm members 26, 2-8 areattached to an end of the guard rail 13 at points that are spaced by adistance equal to the spcaing between the pivot points 30, 32 so thatthe arm members 26, 28 form part of a parallel linkage assembly.

When the guard rail 13 is in the lowered position shown in FIG. 2, thelowermost arm member 28 rests upon a lower limit stop 36 preferablyconsisting of a small block welded to the outer face of the mountingbracket. The locking mechanism for holding the guard rail 13 in theraised position is mounted behind the head board at the head of the bedwhere it is out of reach of the patient, to prevent the patient fromaccidentally lowering the rail. The locking mechanism consists of ashort bar 38 which is pivotally attached to the mounting bracket 14 by aloose rivet 40. The outer end of the bar 38 is provided with a notch 42which is shaped to receive a stud 44 (see FIG. 3) carried by the lowerarm member 28. The stud 44 has an enlarged head to prevent the bar 38from slipping sideways off the stud. The manner in which the stud isengaged by the bar 38 is shown in FIG. 3 and it will be noted that dueto the geometry of the system the parallel linkage assembly cannot dropdownwardly when the bar 38 is engaged with the stud 44. To lower theguard rail 13, the bar 38 is raised slightly by hand, and to enable thisto be done, a block 46 upon which the bar 38 rests is relieved ordownwardly curved at its rear edge 48. The function of the block 46 isto hold the bar 38 in the position shown in FIG. 2 so that it will beengaged automatically when the guard rail is raised. The stud 44 is soplaced on the arm member 28 that when the guard rail is swung upwardly,the stud 44 engages the bar 38 just slightly outwardly of the notch 42so that the bar 38 is pushed upwardly a sufiicient degree to permit thebar 38 to drop onto the stud 44 when the guard rail 13 is raised to itsuppermost position. The guard rail 13 is then ettectively locked inplace until the bar 3 8 is again lifted. The lifting action to permitlowering of the guard rail 13 is done by hand and a small knob 50 isprovided on the bar 38 for this purpose.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the mounting brackets 14, 16 arepreferably removably attached to the bed frame by means of holdingbrackets 52 (one for each mounting bracket) which are permanentlyattached to the bed frame and which are provided with a pair of notches54 adapted to receive a pair of studs 58 and 60 carried by the mountingbrackets 14, 16. A swing catch 56 is used for locking together themounting brackets 14, 16 and the holding brackets 52. It is advantageousto make the guard rail removable in this manner so that if a particularbed does not require a guard rail for an extended period of time, theguard rail may be transferred to another bed having similar holdingbrackets 52.

The mounting bracket 16 at the foot of the bed carries a single armmember 62 which is pivotally attached at its outer end to the centraltubular element 22 of the guard rail. The inner end of the arm member 62is pivotally attached to the mounting bracket 16, and in the lowerposition of the guard rail the arm member 62 rests upon a block 64secured to the mounting bracket 16. The block 64 is preferably ofrubber. To support the foot end of the guard rail (which otherwise wouldsag), an elongated torque tube 66 is installed inside the tubularelement 22. The torque tube 66 is given a permanent twist which servesto keep the guard rail horizontal in all positions.

The torque tube 66 is preferably made of 14 gauge cold rolled weldedsteel pipe of 'Va" outside diameter, with a length of 83 /2". The twistin the torque tube 66 is about 4 and it should be noted that the twistshould be in a proper direction to cause the foot end of the guard railto be urged upwardly. Thus, when guard rails are used on both sides ofthe bed, the torque tubes 66 of the respective guard rails will haveopposite twists.

It is stated above that the first and second linkages 18 and 20 areattached to the guard rail 13. More specifially, the outer ends of thearms 28 and 62 of the respective linkages 18, 20' are connected to thetorque tube 66. To effect this, each end of the torque tube 66 is fittedwith a square-headed plug 68 which are received in square holes in theouter ends of the arm members 28 and 62 and are secured in place bymachine screws 70 threaded into the plugs 68. As mentioned above, thetorque tube 66 is given an appropriate twist to impart a slight liftingaction on the outer end of the arm 62 at the foot of the bed. Thiscounteracts any tendency of this arm to droop when the guard rail is inthe raised position. Of course, there is no tendency of arm 62 to droopwhen the guard rail is in the lower position as the arm 62 then restsagainst the block 64 fixed to the mounting bracket 16. It is also to benoted that the uppermost tubular element 21 contains a plug 72 having anouter end 74 about which the outer end of the arm member 26 is free topivot.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. In combination:

(a) a guard rail for a hospital bed and the like, said guard rail beingpositioned alongside the bed and being movable between a first positionwhere it projects upwardly sufficiently to protect a bed occupant fromaccidentally falling out of bed and a second lower position where itdoes not interfere with the ingress and egress of the bed occupant intoand out of bed,

(b) first linkage means positioned at the head of the bed and pivotallyconnected to one end of said guard rail, said first linkage meansincluding a pair of vertically spaced parallel swinging arm memberswhich are pivotal about their inner ends,

(0) second linkage means positioned at the foot of the bed and pivotallyconnected to the other end of said guard rail, said first and secondlinkage means cooperating with said guard rail to permit said guard railto swing between said first and second positions in an approximatelyvertical path,

(d) means for releasably holding said guard rail in said first position,and

(e) stop means for holding said guard rail in said second position.

2. The invention claimed in claim 1 wherein said guard rail includes apair of elongated parallel spaced apart tubular members which areconnected together to form a rail, and an elongated torque tube, theends of said torque tube respectively being connected to said first andsecond linkage means, said torque tube being torsionally twisted in adirection and to a degree such that the twist in said torque tube urgessaid second linkage means to swing upwardly sufficiently tocounterbalance the weight of said guard rail at said second linkagemeans.

3. The invention claimed in claim 2 wheerin said parallel swinging armmembers of said first linkage means are positioned adjacent to the headend of the bed at right angles to said guard rail, said swinging armmembers having their outer ends respectively pivotally connected to theuppermost of said tubular members and to said torque tube.

4. The invention claimed in claim 3 wherein said second linkage meansincludes a single swinging arm which is pivotally connected at its outerend to said torque tube and which is pivotal about its inner end, saidarm being parallel to said arm members of said first linkage means.

5. The invention claimed in claim 4 wherein the first and second linkagemeans are respectively connected to the bed by means of mountingbrackets that are releasably secured to the respective ends of the bed,the inner ends of said swinging arm members being pivotally secured toone mounting bracket and the inner end of said swinging arm of saidsecond linkage means being secured to the other of said mountingbrackets.

6. The invention claimed in claim 4 wherein said means for releasablyholding said guard rail in said first position includes a bar that ispivotal about its inner end, said bar having a slot positioned to engagea stud carried by one of said arm members, and a stop member positionedto limit the movement of said bar so that in said first position of theguard rail said bar is approximately horizontal.

7. The invention claimed in claim '6 wherein the inner end of said stopmember is relieved to permit the outer end of said bar to be raisedsufliciently to permit the bar to be disengaged from said stud.

8. The invention claimed in claim 5 wherein said stop means consists ofa block secured to at least one of said mounting brackets and positionedto limit the downward travel of the lowermost one of said swinging arms.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner US. Cl.X.R. 5100

